Working parents often find themselves paying a babysitter or daycare organization, which works well for many families, but some are unable to afford child care. That is where Dardanelle Boys and Girls Club Director Christian Noteboom comes in.

Noteboom, who has worked with children throughout much her life, said she began working with children because she wants them to have a constructive day every day.

“So many parents can’t afford the cost of daycare. It can be ridiculously expensive,” Noteboom said. “Regardless of their economic rank, I want to give children a chance to grow. That’s why I do what I do.”

Noteboom began her career right after graduating from Russellville High School, when she became an instructor at Russellville’s Friendship My Child.

“I was young, I was out of high school, and I always knew that I’d somehow be involved with kids,” Noteboom said. “I remember when I was first put in a classroom. I was terrified. But after a little bit, I adjusted and realized that I never wanted to do anything else.”

Noteboom next worked for Arkansas Better Chance, where she remained for nine years. As an instructor, Noteboom followed the same general schedule as public schools — teaching in the fall and spring, then taking the summer off — but that was not Noteboom’s preference.

“I can’t work two semesters and then take a few months off and do nothing. I’ll go crazy,” Noteboom said. “I have to do something productive. So when Cathy Andrasik, the executive director for the club, offered to let me work over the summer as a director at the club, I was excited.

“Of course, I was a bit nervous. I had never done anything exactly like that before.”

When Noteboom showed up on her first day that summer, she said Andrasik told her to do the best she could.

“Cathy was like, ‘The only thing I can tell you is that you’re going to have to figure it out,’” Noteboom said. “That pumped me up, because there’s nothing I love more than being able to walk into work every morning and not know what to expect.”

Over the course of the summer, Noteboom worked with local children, built relationships and taught them important life skills.

“The thing about the kids is that they are a bit rough around the edges,” Noteboom said. “They are not your typical cookie-cutter, high grade point kids. We had to earn their trust and let them know that they were in a place where they could interact with the world around them and learn new things.”

Noteboom said her first summer served as a major learning experience, but her second summer began on an even more difficult note. Noteboom recalled an emergency she described as one of her most difficult experiences.

“In September, after my first summer at the club, Mr. Brown [a former co-director] had a massive heart attack and passed away,” Noteboom said. “Mr. Brown had such a relationship with the kids, especially the harder, less social kids. I had to confront my kids and tell them that Mr. Brown was not coming back. Just explaining that to them, or at least trying to, tore me up.”

For the most part, however, Noteboom said the experiences at the club are more than positive.

“Sure, there have been the positives and negatives,” Noteboom said. “But nothing is more exciting than realizing that you become family to these children. You become a part of their life. It’s a really, really good feeling.”

Noteboom said she plans to continue working with children and she sees the club playing an integral part in the community in the future.

“A year from now, I want to be still be fighting for kids,” Noteboom said. “I see myself still working with the schools to give these kids more opportunities.

“I feel like for now, though, I’m exactly where I need to be. I’ve found my niche in Dardanelle and I get to make a difference here. How many people can go to work every day feeling like that?”